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08 May 2024
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The Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Prof Paul Oberholster, has the pleasure of inviting you to the inaugural lecture of Prof Dirk Opperman.
Date: 21 May 2024
Time: 17:30
Venue: Equitas
Click here to RSVP before Wednesday, 15 May 2024. Alternatively, contact Christelle van Rooyen on +27 51 401 9190.
About Prof Dirk Opperman
Prof Dirk Opperman obtained his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of the Free State in 2008. This was followed by postdoctoral research on directed evolution with Prof Manfred T Reetz at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research (Germany). In 2010, he was appointed in the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry. He subsequently established structural biology at the UFS, and his current research focus lies at the interface of evolutionary and structure-function relationships of biocatalysts, and their application in green chemistry. He is an NRF B-rated researcher with co-authored papers in Science, Nature Communications, and Angewandte Chemie.
His research has been funded by both local and international organisations, ranging from industries such as SASOL to the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF, UK). He has a long-standing collaboration with researchers at the Delft University of Technology (TUDelft, the Netherlands) and is currently part of a European Research Area Network Cofund (ERA-NET Cofund) partnership on Food Systems and Climate (FOSC) that develops biocatalysts for upcycling waste.
Global Leadership Summit closes as landmark event for UFS
2015-07-29
Dineo Gaofhiwe-Ingram, Head: Office of International Affairs |
In the final week of the summit, delegates visited the Qwaqwa Campus, where they engaged in cultural activities, and attended presentations by staff and students. To celebrate Mandela Day, they participated in community work in Heidedal, Bloemfontein at the Reach Our Community Foundation (ROC), where they painted facilities at the children’s after-school care centre.
The summit came to a close on 17 July 2015, in a ceremony held on the Bloemfontein Campus. Student cohorts presented videos depicting their experiences over the two weeks they spent in the Free State. These videos capture what they view as similarities in the struggle for human existence, and compared and contrasted the realities of day–to-day life in their home countries and in South Africa.
Click here to view a gallery of photos of the GLS.
Previous articles on GLS
Leadership and responsible citizenship: key themes at the Global Leadership Summit
UFS to host second Global Leadership Summit